9 decorating dilemmas that prove you are middle class

How many problems are you faced with on a daily basis when decorating your home? Are you searching for the perfect larder cupboard? Or perhaps you're planning to have one built in? Let's face it, there's only a certain type of person who has sleepless nights over the size of their pantry!

Here at Housetohome we've made a checklist that will tell you how posh your pad really is. From your choice of dinnerware to your love of range cookers, these decorating details and dilemmas prove just how upmarket your house must be...

1. AGA VS MASSIVE RANGE COOKER

If you're debating having an AGA or a similar style range cooker, then the simple fact is your house must be pretty big. No one in a two-bed terrace could possibly fit an AGA into their kitchen scheme. Maybe you're even planning to have two ovens? Bottom line - you're posh and privileged.

2. LARDER CHOICE

With the rise of fitted kitchens and large fridges, having a pantry is quite a luxury. In the UK, most larders were removed from houses to make way for built-in cabinetry. If however, you are planning a floor-to-ceiling walk-in pantry, then you've clearly got a lot of room and an impressive kitchen planner. A larder cupboard is the downmarket version, but still gets points for being a middle-class addition.

3. HAVING BESPOKE CURTAINS MADE?

You've spent the last few weekends at your local interiors shop thumbing your way through fabric books, you have an array of swatches placed strategically around your home and you've now enlisted the help of a bespoke curtain maker. Yes, all people buy made-to-measure curtains, but there are only a few people who will genuinally obsess over whether to go for that really great Osborne & Little print over the equally beautifully Colefax & Fowler pattern. Only the middle classes truly know that hanging curtains is an art form and only they are willing to pay £1,000 and upwards to have one window dressed.

4. YOUR CHOICE OF ART

All of us may have some handed down pictures and mementoes that we call 'art'. We may also have collected a few expensive prints over the years. Fine art however (mostly bought in auctions or posh galleries), is the exclusive domain of the middle and upper classes.

5. AN ORANGERY, OR A BOOT ROOM?

There are certain rooms that only the middle classes possess. An orangery is a basically an upmarket conservatory and a boot room is a posh utility room. If you are planning any of these then you are upper middle class. End of.

6. DINNERWARE DECISIONS

Obviously your choice of dinnerware is a definite sign of your breeding. No middle class person could be happy with one dishwasher-safe set that gets wheeled out at every meal. Oh no, finest bone china (Wedgewood, probably) will come out for dinner parties, then a separate set for evening meals, then an inexpensive set for breakfast and lunch. It's a good job you middle classes have a place to store all this china!

7. HAVE YOU GOT ENOUGH CLOTH NAPKINS?

Most people will know to get out the nice napkins for guests, but the middle classes will ensure cloth napkins are set for even the most simple of suppers.

8. WHAT'S YOUR UPHOLSTERED SOFA CHOICE?

Leather sofas are always seen as a bit dubious in a posh pad. Fabric is really the only option for the middle classes. Also, only the middle classes would consider having a sofa re-upholstered (due to the extortionate price tag that goes with it!)

9. WHERE TO STORE ALL THE BOOKS?

There are certain (small) problems with your expansive university education and love of culture - it breeds books, and tons of them. Yes, you may have recently invested in a Kindle, but if the books on your shelves far outweigh the number of DVDs, then chances are your middle class. Now you just need more bookcases to store them in!

Love this? For more decorating ideas visit our dedicated kitchen and living room channels

******